A little while I received an erroneous computer-generated earthquake report of a major 6.8 magnitude earthquake nearby – and next to a densely populated area with offshore and onshore oil wells …

The alert was generated by a Caltech employee who tired to correct the location of a real earthquake that occurred 92 years ago – in 1925 – and the automatic alert system interpreted the data as a current earthquake and sent out the automated message. It appears that the software needs to be modified for a sensibility check.

Bottom line …

But it could have just as easily been real. BE PREPARED FOR ALL NATURAL AND MAN-MADE DISASTERS WHICH CAN OCCUR IN YOUR AREA!!!

-- steve

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

Every time I hear Trump brag about his “top” people, I cannot help but recall the scene from Indian Jones and his confrontation with the government after rescuing the Ark of the Covenant …

Now we are finding out that Eric Trump’s personal assistant and wedding planner is the Director of Public Engagement at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development where she appears to have few of the qualifications one might expect for the position – that given the number of talented people, of both parties, in and around Washington D.C.

However, do not be mislead by that reference to Quinnipiac University Law School. She does not appear to be a graduate, a lawyer, or anything even close. …

The Daily News notes that Patton’s LinkedIn profile lists Quinnipiac University Law School under education, though next to “J.D.” it says “(N/A).” What could that mean? The Daily News was curious, so they called up Quinnipiac, and then reported the following: “school registrar Jim Benson said Patton attended for two semesters but did not graduate.” Which is all rather perfect. We should all start putting “N/A” next to things we haven’t done but sort of want people to think we have done. <Source>

But this is not the first time Trump has made a mistake with one of his kid’s people …

Trump mortgage chief inflated resume

When the real estate mogul launched Trump Mortgage in April, he said it would inject integrity into an industry that has the reputation for giving customers a raw deal. To head the mortgage broker, Trump hired E.J. Ridings, who the company's Web site touts as a seasoned pro.

In interviews with Money and on his company's Web site, Ridings has made a number of false or misleading claims about his professional experience. Last week, following inquiries by Money into Ridings' background, Trump Mortgage altered its Web site, removing some of the claims it contained about Ridings' past employment.

First, Ridings' initial bio stated that before joining the company he was "a top executive at one of Wall Street's most prestigious investment banks." Second, the bio had said that Ridings was an "established leader" at one of New York's leading mortgage boutiques. Third, the bio said he had 15 years of experience in the financial industry.

All three claims appear to be false, according to regulatory documents obtained by Money and interviews with former colleagues of Ridings.

Ridings, 42, has never been a top professional on Wall Street. Ridings, in an interview with Money in September, said the "top-executive" reference in his bio refers to an 18-month period in which he was a retail stock broker at Morgan Stanley. But even that is a significant stretching of the truth. According to documents from the New York State Attorney General's office, Ridings worked at Morgan Stanley's brokerage subsidiary Dean Witter Reynolds in the fall of 1998 for less than three months. During that time, he was a registered broker for six days before leaving the firm. A spokeswoman at Morgan Stanley confirmed that Ridings worked for the firm's brokerage division briefly in the fall of 1998, but would not comment on how or why Ridings left the firm. The spokeswoman declined to comment on what Ridings' role was at Morgan Stanley or whether he could have risen to a "top executive" in his three-month tenure.

Ridings is also inflating his position in the mortgage industry. According to former colleagues, Ridings was a relatively minor player at the mortgage boutique GuardHill Financial, where he worked from June 2003 to April 2005. Jan Scheck, who Ridings listed as his supervisor on documents he filed with the New York State Banking Department, said Ridings held an entry-level position at the firm, and was one of 40 loan originators. Scheck ended up being hired by Ridings at Trump Mortgage as national sales manager, but left the firm this year after his one-year contract was up.

What about those 15 years of experience in the financial industry? According to documents obtained by Money from the New York State Banking Department, Ridings' first job in the financial services industry was his brief time as a broker at Morgan Stanley in late 1998. The documents also say he was a day trader for two years, and worked at subprime lending firm Equity Funding for one year before joining GuardHill.

Where Ridings does have a fair amount of experience is in the nutritional supplement business. In the mid-1990s, he founded a company that sold a variety of vitamins and health drinks. Before that, Ridings owned a cleaning service. Ridings, through a spokesperson, says his 15 years of experience includes the "financial industry experience within his own companies that he founded earlier in his career."

Ridings says his company is off to a great start. "What we have got going here is phenomenal," Ridings said recently. "Trump Mortgage is going to be huge." <Source>

Far from yuge …

Trump mortgage, conceived in the beginning days of the mortgage meltdown, perhaps as a way to pocket those deep commissions from selling Trump-owned or Trump-promoted real estate, the firm cratered and crashed.

Bottom line …

Ever wonder about the cast of characters swirling around Donald Trump and the Trump Organization? Me too!

We are so screwed.

-- steve

Bottom line …

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

I find that it is extremely curious and questionable that Special Counsel Robert Mueller, himself a former official of both the Department of Justice and the FBI, would select three rabid partisan progressive socialist democrats with significant ties to the Clintons to participate in a wide-ranging and unlimited investigation of Donald Trump, members of the Trump Administration, and his campaign staffers.

Not only does Mueller have a major conflict of interest when it comes to investigating the DOJ and FBI with regard to wrongdoing, but his protégé, former FBI Director James Comey is at the heart of the Trump issue.

Is it possible that these three lawyers are actually fixers who work on behalf of Hillary Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, and numerous foreign sovereign sources of personal, campaign, and foundation funding that benefited the Clintons?

Consider the following …

Andrew Weissmann-- this is the guy who was the general counsel who prosecuted the Enron case only to see his work overturned by the United States Supreme Court 8-0 in part because of his actions. Weissmann also worked as special counsel and as general counsel under Mueller at the Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as heading the criminal fraud section at DOJ.

Serious ethical charges against FBI Deputy Director Andrew Weissmann are pending before the First Judicial Department Disciplinary Committee in New York. The charges arise from his role in hiding evidence favorable to the defense when he was a federal prosecutor leading the Enron Task Force. The Department of Justice is handling his defense.

According to the DOJ, there was no violation of the rules of ethics, even if Weissmann “plainly suppressed” evidence favorable to the defense—as the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Enron Task Force did. Mr. Weissmann, who also serves as General Counsel to the FBI, has pitched his entire ethics defense on the claim that the Rules of Professional Conduct require prosecutors to disclose to the defense team only information that is both favorable and “material.” That may be the standard for reversing a criminal conviction under the Supreme Court’s 1963 decision in Brady v. Maryland, but the ethical rules require more. <Source>

Jeannie Rhee– worked under the corrupt Clinton crony Eric Holder. She represented Hillary Clinton in the email scandal. She also represented the Clinton Foundation against charges of racketeering. It should also be noted that the Clinton Foundation was also represented in this matter by the notorious Jaime Gorelick who seems to have switched sides and represents Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

Aaron Zebley– represented Justin Cooper who was one of the few Clintonistas who managed Hillary’s email server. He was Clinton’s one of Hillary’s personal staff aides. He worked for the Clinton White House as a personal aide to Bill Clinton and then worked for the Clinton Foundation.

Of all of the acceptable candidates for assisting Special Counsel Mueller, one wonders why these three, all with obvious issues, were selected to investigate Donald Trump?

Bottom line …

With a corrupt and partisan mainstream media, who will investigate governmental malfeasance and hold the special counsel accountable for his actions and the actions of his hand-picked team?

With Obama-era scandals impinging on the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, might the quid pro quo turn out to be a deal for the Clintons and the Clinton Foundation in return for a finding that clears Trump and most of his associates? Of course, as FBI Agent Sadusky (Harvey Keitel) says in National Treasure, “Someone's got to go to prison, Ben.”

Who will it be and what minor procedural excuse will suffice?

It is a bitch when you cannot trust your government’s premier law enforcement agency to do the right thing.

We are so screwed.

-- steve

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

It is always amazing to me – the degree of certitude certain scientists and authors have when discussing the subject of global climate change.

Almost as if they, and their like-minded cohorts, can manipulate millions of years of history into a self-serving and profitable narrative. Complicit with the politicians who are attempting to use science as the basis of their political agenda of seeking greater control over the lives and finances of their respective populations/

There are a few fundamental facts that one should always bear in mind when reading stories of this nature.

There are significant personal and professional profits, from peer acceptance to financial windfalls, to be had from those who pursue the fashionable politics and science of the day against more measured observers and contrarians.

That the major driver of the climate “story," the United Nations IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), is a political body that does not perform science and has a self-serving agenda of institutional perpetuation and independent funding. And even more obscene is that the dictators and repressive regimes that comprise this body mandate that natural climate inputs be ignored in favor of an emphasis on “man-made” climate impacts and drivers.

There is no planetary emergency, as all of the dire consequences that are illustrated by climate alarmists are the product of flawed and incomplete computer models with dodgy data inputs. The Earth has been hotter, colder, with more atmospheric carbon dioxide and with less atmospheric carbon dioxide. And, nowhere in four billion years has anyone observed the phenomena used to drive this toxic political agenda and replace the scientific method with the dogma of another man-made religion.

Not only can man’s climate signal not be accurately measured against the natural variability of climate, but that no scientist has proposed any mitigation scenario that can deal with the natural drivers of climate” The Sun’s energy output in all spectral bands, extra-terrestrial cosmic rays, the Earth’s position relative to the Sun, the Earth’s precessional and rotational dynamics, the Earth’s shifting magnetic field, the Earth’s plate tectonics and vulcanology, the deep ocean currents, and the chaotic nature of the most prevalent and potent of greenhouse gases, water vapor.

So it upsets me when I see misleading articles in respected publications …

Is It So Bad If the World Gets A Little Hotter? Uh, Yeah

Many of us share some dim apprehension that the world is flying out of control, that the center cannot hold. Raging wildfires, once-in-1,000-year storms, and lethal heat waves have become fixtures of the evening news—and all this after the planet has warmed by less than 1 degree Celsius above preindustrial temperatures. But here’s where it gets really scary.

[OCS: This is the type of rhetoric that needs to be challenged. Many people share what they are told in a corrupted mainstream media and most apprehension appears to be built on a false premise. One does not find anyone mentioning the fact that man does not know what the optimum temperature of the Earth might be, that there are significant physical and social benefits for a slight warming trend, and that nature appears to have a self-compensating feedback loop that maintains the Earth within narrowly constrained limits.

Raging wildfires sparked by lightning have always been a part of nature and its renewal process. If anything man has interrupted the cycle by building developments in areas prone to fire and has fought fires before they could substantially reduce the fuel load for the next renewal cycle.

Once-in-1,000 year storms are natural and nothing new. Weather is a chaotic system and statistically variable. Infrequent events exist as outliers and are as natural as more common events.

What is correct is that these stories are amplified and repeated by the evening news – presented in a sensational context meant to scare the audience and keep them from switching channels or turning to other sources of information.

The author confuses, and I mean deliberately confuses, cause and effect. Why is it that scientists cannot explain a flat climate trend line over the past eighteen or so years in the face of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide?]

If humanity burns through all its fossil fuel reserves, there is the potential to warm the planet by perhaps more than 10 degrees Celsius and raise sea levels by hundreds of feet.

[OCS: Note the conjecture and unsubstantiated nature of its claims. Note the weasel-words: if, potential, and perhaps.]

This is a warming spike comparable in magnitude to that so far measured for the End-Permian mass extinction.

[OCS: This is a scenario based on improbable assumptions. We do not know what caused mass extinctions. It could have been an asteroid strike, it could have been a bacterial or viral infection, it could have been a shift in local resources. But, the conditions at the time of these mass extinctions hold no clue to what really happened. So again, we see more “conjecture.”]

If the worst-case scenarios come to pass, today’s modestly menacing ocean-climate system will seem quaint. Even warming to half of that amount would create a planet that would have nothing to do with the one on which humans evolved, or on which civilization has been built. The last time it was 4 degrees warmer there was no ice at either pole, and sea level was hundreds of feet higher than it is today.

[OCS: The worst-case scenario is not man-made, but the danger of a massive solar flare that will destroy all electronic devices with an electromagnetic pulse – and by extension life as we know it. Or, perhaps an asteroid strike or the eruption of a super-volcano? Or even more likely – and deadly – a man-made virus or bacterium that escapes into the wild and decimates the population like the Spanish Flu?

Funny, the author speaks of evolution, but little is said about man’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances, especially with advances in medicine, technology, engineering, and materials sciences.

And, as for the ice situation, one might consider that at one time the world looked different and much of the inhabited landmass was under ice or water. Nothing new here folks, just people trying to spin the story to their advantage.]

I met University of New Hampshire paleoclimatologist Matthew Huber at a diner near campus in Durham, New Hampshire. Huber has spent a sizable portion of his research career studying the hothouse of the early mammals, and he thinks that in the coming centuries it’s not impossible that we might be headed back to the Eocene climate of 50 million years ago, when there were Alaskan palm trees and alligators splashed in the Arctic Circle.

[OCS: Not an impossibility as climate cycles occur naturally. As for centuries, it might be more like a million or so years. But, we sort of know the end-point: when the Sun goes supernova and consumes the Earth. And, like end-times, do we want to compromise our health, standard of living, and finances to satisfy those alarmists who want to return to a pre-industrial age on the grossly mistaken notion that such a diminishment in the population and natural resource usage is going to alter the path of nature over geological time periods?]

I could have continued with my comments, but it became both tedious and depressing – especially knowing that this drivel was being presented in WIRED, one of the hipster publications targeted at millennials.

Bottom line …

Prognostications and projections are hardly gospel. The consensus is a political process, not part of the scientific method. And, you may wish to examine the motives of politicians and the institutions, scientists, and projects that have been funded and corrupted by those seeking control over your health, employment, and standard of living.

We are so screwed.

-- steve

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

Progressive delegates from 189 different countries attended a special committee meeting of the United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to listen to an American explain how intellectual property rights should be strictly controlled on behalf of indigenous peoples and those whose cultures are associated with specific iconography, sounds, or other expressions of their culture. The committee’s name says it all: “Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge, and Folklore.”

Those damn capitalists at General Motors used an Indian as the hood ornament for their Pontiac brand.

An American on the warpath …

James Anaya, a graduate of Harvard Law School, and the current Dean of Law at the University of Colorado appears to be one of those academics who profits from being a perpetual victim and attempts to spin his ethnic background as an American Indian into a platform for the representation of indigenous people of the world.

It is Anaya’s goal for any final report produced by the WIPO include language that “obligate states to create effective criminal and civil enforcement procedures to recognize and prevent the non-consensual taking and illegitimate possession, sale, and export of traditional cultural expressions.”

In other words, Anaya wants to criminalize “cultural appropriation” -- the creation of intellectual property that uses imagery and other expressions of a particular culture. And that a new class of intellectual property rights be created even if the expression has long been in the public domain and is owned by society as a whole.

To demonstrate the absurdity of this proposition one need only consider a non-native American artist being banned from painting a picture of tribal life, using the cadence of a native American chant, or simply reproducing iconic jewelry.

Bottom line …

It appears that this is another progressive stratagem to impose additional taxes and fees to benefit those who want to transgress boundaries. Much like the failed idea of the original cap-and-trade scheme that allowed “local” polluters to continue polluting the local land, air, and water as long as they purchased indulgences that were artificially created by planting trees or paying farmers not to impact a foreign rain forest. Wealth distribution by another more politically correct name.

It is ironic that the progressives who hate the concept of capitalism, private property rights, and the rule of law, often try to subvert the system using the system against itself. By laying “cultural” claim to that which belongs in the public domain and made available to our entire planetary society, we create another Disney Corporation that sees nothing wrong with imposing controls and spy tactics to protects its right to market a mouse that should be in the public domain. For those who do not know the history of Disney, you can thank them for supporting the early bans on digital recorders, the extension of the time allotted before something enters the public domain, the embedding of identifiers in electronic devices, and using the government to investigate and prosecute what was originally a civil matter and the responsibility of those whose property was infringed.

Funny how those who believe that the world’s cultures should be united, continue to devise methods to divide and conquer populations for the purpose of political control.

We are so screwed.

-- steve

Research links …

Intergovernmental Committee (IGC)

The WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore is, in accordance with its mandate , undertaking text-based negotiations with the objective of reaching agreement on a text(s) of an international legal instrument(s), which will ensure the effective protection of traditional knowledge (TK), traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) and genetic resources (GRs).

It is ironic that the Mayor and Los Angeles Police Chief would take time and spend the city’s money to honor a fictional crime-fighter when they are the proximate cause or much of the criminality in the city with their refusal to follow federal immigration laws and by providing a sanctuary for illegal alien gang members and their families.

The Bat-signal will be seen in Los Angeles on Thursday night in honor of "Batman" actor Adam West, who died June 9 at age 88.

Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck will light the signal, which will be projected onto City Hall in a ceremony beginning at 9 p.m. Guests will arrive starting at 8.

The Bat-signal, a comics version of 911 where the Caped Crusader answers the call, is employed by the Gotham City Police Department to summon Batman's help. Organizers said fans are welcome to show up at 200 N. Spring St. in downtown L.A. in costume. West died June 9 after a short battle with leukemia. <Source>

Bottom line …

It is no joke when those who have sworn to uphold the rule of law – are lawless themselves.

We are so screwed.

-- steve

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

While I am sympathetic to anyone who is undergoing medical trials and tribulations, I just can not muster any sympathy for the student who decided to visit North Korea – and steal a souvenir in the process.

The trip to North Korea, a known hostile and repressive regime unfriendly to the United States, was voluntary. Not exactly a garden destination spot for any traveler.

Due to Department of State warnings about travel in the region, one cannot say that the regime’s propensity to capture and jail Americans for publicity and bargaining purposes is unknown.

Stealing a souvenir or defacing state property – a major crime – in a repressive regime is idiocy.

With that said, the student is suffering the consequences of his combined foolish actions. And, unfortunately, the taxpayers are paying the price for diplomatic efforts and medical intervention.

So perhaps the student’s father should just shut up and stop trying to make his son’s tragedy into either a fundraising opportunity or a cause célèbre during times where North Korea is pursuing a reckless course of nuclear missile chicken with America.

'They've crossed a line with my son': Father of US student detained by North Korea speaks out

The father of Otto Warmbier, the US student detained by North Korea and medically evacuated to his family in a coma, gave a press conference on Thursday morning and called for Kim Jong Un's regime to be held responsible.

Otto Warmbier, who was detained for attempting to steal a propaganda banner from a hotel in North Korea, came back home on Tuesday in "bad shape," having been in a coma since shortly after his trial. The Warmbier family told The Washington Post's Anna Fifield that the North Koreans told them Otto was stricken with botulism after his trial, took a sleeping pill, and had not woken up since. But now, doctors are saying it looks more like a "severe neurological injury."

Warmbier also expressed dissatisfaction with the "pariah regime in North Korea" that "terrorized and brutalized" Otto for 18 months in an interview with Fox News' Tucker Carlson.

"They're brutal. There's no sense to anything here," he told Carlson. "They've crossed a line with my son, Otto." In Cincinnati, Warmbier criticized the world's approach to North Korea. "I don't see a tough approach to North Korea. They're still able to take Americans hostage and abuse them. They're still able to be terrorists in the world," he said.

"It started with prisoners of the Korean war, it extended to the USS Pueblo, and now it extended to my son Otto," he added, referencing North Korea's 1968 capture of 83 US Navy sailors and their subsequent torture and captivity. Warmbier expressed mixed feelings about his son being home. "I would like to highlight this morning the bittersweet feeling that my family has. Relief that Otto is now home in the arms of those who love him, and anger that he was so brutally treated for so long." <Source>

Bottom line …

It appears that the United States is also complicit in this tragedy for not simply outlawing non-business, voluntary travel of American citizens, even those traveling under dual citizenship or another passport, to politically sensitive nations that are hostile towards Americans.

It also appears that allowing fools like former basketball star Dennis Rodman to interact with the highest levels of government officials of a hostile regime is also counterproductive. There is little we can do or say, either as individuals or as a nation, which will dispel North Korea from developing and selling nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology.

One wonders what the United States had to do to get this “student” back? Or what action was taken by Barack Obama at the time of his detention?

Like illegal aliens, if they are not physically present in the country, no crime can be committed.

We are so screwed.

-- steve

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

Once again we find a progressive socialist Democrat, Brad Sherman (Delusional-California) attempting to grab media face time with “trumped-up” tax exempt charges in what he claims is a valid impeachment resolution. As a distinguished Harvard Law School graduate, one might expect Sherman to understand the various provisions of the United States Constitution and the current federal laws now in effect.

That the investigation into the allegations of Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election was an intelligence investigation, not a criminal investigation. There is absolutely no proof that the Russians were behind the hacking of the DNC or John Podesta. There has never been a claim that the Russians modified or inserted false information into the emails. The DNC refused to allow the FBI to forensically examine their email server, thus thwarting any legitimate investigation at the time. And, as for real interference with an election, one need only see the IRS scandal denying President Obama’s opposition the right to raise tax-exempt funding as impeding a federal election.

The President of the United States, as the head of the Executive Branch of government, has the authority to remove any person under his jurisdiction for any reason or at any time. The fact that James Comey appeared to have a pattern and practice of behaviors that indicate potential political corruption and/or malfeasance is sufficient grounds for his termination; although no grounds need be specified by the President of the United States.

The public statements of the President of the United States are not made under oath, nor are politically motivated statements sanctionable. If lying to the American public was a crime, one might consider former President Obama’s statements on the Affordable Healthcare Act and Benghazi to be criminal acts.

As for faithfully discharging the duties of the Presidency, one need only note the number of Democrats who have defied existing federal laws with respect to immigration and the sovereignty of the United States. If these articles of impeachment were allowed to stand, one would have the ability to remove almost all Democrats in office for criminal violations of existing law, specifically aiding and abetting criminal activities.

According to then FBI Director Comey, President Trump was never a target of any investigation and Trump urged him to investigate all satellite members of the Trump campaign in an expeditious manner. Definitely not obstructing justice.

§ 1521 - Retaliating against a Federal judge or Federal law enforcement officer by false claim or slander of title

Brad Sherman’s House Resolution calling for the impeachment of President Trump …

Bottom line …

The ONLY thing that kept former President Obama from being charged with real criminal activity was that he was BLACK and protected by the mainstream media! It appears that the entire brouhaha involving Trump was created by the progressive socialist Democrats and their mainstream media cohorts. I am not a fan of Donald Trump, but he is infinitely superior to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

My only question is when is the GOP going to find their collective balls and strike back. Bringing real investigations of criminal activity by Obamacons and Clintons. It appears that they are so afraid of taking action that they have become totally ineffective.

We are so screwed.

-- steve

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

In a Congress that seems content with its own ignorance on nationally important matters and a propensity to divide themselves along partisan lines, one wonders if there is anyone left who is willing to question the deep and abiding scandals of the Obama Administration with the vigor that they now pursue the investigation of President Trump and his Administration. If meeting the Russian Ambassador is a crime, why isn’t Diane Feinstein in jail for having lunch with him in the Senate cafeteria? Why is it presupposed that the Russians were behind the hacking of the DNC when they refused to let the FBI forensically examine their server? And, why have the progressive socialist democrats turned from trying to prove collusion – since none apparently exists – and are pursuing a procedural violation like obstruction of justice? Curious since the President of the United States holds plenary powers that make him immune from prosecution.

There is substantial credible evidence that President Barack Obama and his cadre of progressive socialist democrats committed prosecutable crimes and should be held accountable for their actions. But it appears that nobody is willing to listen and that the executive branch law enforcement agencies, notably the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, appear tainted by political scandal, malfeasance, and possibly, criminal actions of their own.

Nobody is talking. When it came to the various scandals of the Obama era, it appears that Administration officials were hiding behind “executive privilege” or cited never-ending investigations in progress as their reason raison d'être for not answering questions.

To illustrate the hypocrisy of the progressives, consider Oregon Senator Ron Wyden’s comment to Attorney General Jeff Sessions who was testifying before the Senate Intelligence Agency. “I believe the American people have had it with stonewalling. Americans don’t want to hear that answers to relevant questions are privileged.”

Precisely. But where was Wyden when an administrative agency was providing guns to Mexican drug cartels, and the administration was stonewalling? How about the URS scandal that affected a presidential election by interfering with Obama’s opposition’s fundraising? Or the provision of military weapons to Islamic terrorists in Benghazi, where Americans were left to die rather than interfere with the upcoming presidential election? It appears that the last thing that Obama wanted was a reference to increasing terrorism on their watch. Or, how about the numerous crimes committed by Hillary Clinton and her cadre of cronies? Or the Clinton Foundation?

All serious issues that demanded the appointment of a special prosecutor. All serious issues that appear to be bungled by a corrupt Department of Justice, first under Eric Holder and then under Loretta Lynch. And, what appears to be a corrupt or incompetent FBI under the Direction of James Comey.

Bottom line …

When are Senator Ron Wyden and his Senate colleagues going to stand up and demand provable wrongdoing be address on behalf of their constituents and the Constitution to which they swore an oath? I can understand that may people do not like Donald Trump, but Trump is not the one that subverted a presidential election like Obama. Trump is not the one that provided our enemies with weapons. Trump is not the one who left Americans to die in an ill-protected foreign outpost. But, most of all, Trump did not pave the road to nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles for the biggest threat to America.

I suggest that Congress has become a clear and present danger to the safety, security, and culture of the United States of America. And that while the progressive socialist democrats demonize and delegitimize their opponents, the GOP us scared silly to do the right thing – maybe because they are being blackmailed by the intelligence and law enforcement deep state – on behalf of We the People. Or even more likely, they are afraid of losing their position, prestige, perks, privileges, and profits in a tight upcoming election that will see the undue influence of foreign powers on our local, state, and national elections. Where color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, and gender play a role in specially created (gerrymandered) districts.

We are so screwed.

-- steve

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

What will Attorney Jeff Sessions tell the Senate Intelligence Committee?

Who cares?

After months of being bombarded with fake news regarding the comings and goings in the White House, the leaks allegedly attributed to “high-level official sources,” and the back-and-forth about the testimony of a former FBI Director who appears to be barely competent, I am tired.

I am tired of listening to the progressive socialist Democrats bleating about corruption, collusion, obstruction of justice, impeachment – when we can all see that the Democrats are deflecting and dissembling lest former President Obama and his cohorts are held accountable for their serious crimes while in office.

I am tired of seeing the GOP turn tail and run for cover lest they upset the moderates and risk losing their cushy jobs, prestige, privileges, perks, and profits in 2018.

It appears that the media is the only winners as they rake in the advertising from a constant barrage of fake news.

The real truth is that nothing much is happening in Washington because both parties are busy screwing Americans.

I would much rather look at the cute beagle puppy.

We are so screwed.

-- steve

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius